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New figures released by the Scottish government today show a growing number of people are turning to the Scottish Welfare Fund for support to cover essential living costs such as heating and eating. The Scottish Welfare Fund comprises of Community Care Grants – which...

Just how many emergency food parcels are given out across Scotland a year? The short answer? We don’t know. We do know that Trussell Trust food banks represent around 56% of the Scottish food bank picture and gave out 170, 625 parcels to adults and children from April...

Today the Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary Derek Mackay unveiled the government’s new budget. Responding to the announcement, Polly Jones, Project Manager of A Menu for Change, said: “Across Scotland, a fifth of single parents are wondering where...

The UK Government’s policies and drastic cuts to social support are entrenching high levels of poverty and inflicting unnecessary misery in one of the richest countries in the world, a UN human rights expert said today. Following a 12 day trip to the UK, including a...

Today is World Food Day. Last year, The Herald marked World Food Day by introducing A Menu for Change, a project to reduce the number of people turning to food banks in Scotland. A year on, A Menu for Change has a positive story to tell about how this is being done in...

The population of Renfrewshire is 178,600. Situated on the west coast of Scotland, there are 14 parks, one Scottish Premiership football team (a gold star if you can name it) and Paisley town centre has the highest concentration of historical buildings outside of...

Today, for the first time ever, the Scottish Government has published statistics on household food insecurity as part of the Scottish Health Survey. Responding to the figures, Dr Mary Anne MacLeod, Policy Officer at A Menu for Change, said: “These statistics paint a...

If you’re about to set foot into a food bank for an emergency parcel what you’re in need of most is money not food. Emergency food bank referrals for people in need have become the default reaction of many job centre staff, doctors, schools and advice workers across...

Across Scotland, more and more people are turning to food banks to help feed themselves and their families. When you ask why this is happening, the answer is rather obvious; people are going to food banks because they don’t have enough money to afford necessities. But...